Where a Brand Mark Can Go on a Cosmetic Brush

The four surfaces

Every branded brush uses one of these four, and the choice is usually made for you by the format of the item:

• The tube of a retractable brush - the largest and most visible surface, and the one the customer holds. Item 50010 is photographed carrying customer artwork on the tube.
• The aluminum ferrule of a kabuki - the only hard surface on a handle-free brush. Item 50008 is shown with printed artwork on the ferrule.
• The handle of a set brush - a narrow surface, best for a short wordmark rather than a device.
• The pouch of a set - fabric or PU, which takes a different process from metal and has its own minimums.

What curved metal does to artwork

A tube and a ferrule are cylinders. A mark printed across a cylinder is read at an angle on both edges, so anything with fine parallel lines, a thin serif or a tight gradient loses definition where the surface curves away.

The practical rule is to simplify before printing, not after. A single-weight wordmark and a solid device reproduce cleanly. Drop shadows, hairlines and small registered trademark symbols usually do not.

The print window is smaller than the surface

On a capped retractable brush the cap overlaps part of the tube, so the visible print area when the brush is closed is shorter than the tube itself. On a ferrule, the join at each end is not printable.

Ask for the print window in millimeters rather than assuming the whole component is usable, and lay the artwork out inside that window before the first sample.

What the catalog commits to and what is quoted

The source catalog makes one plain commitment: on the retractable powder brushes, the design and logo can be changed as per the client's request. That is the reference point for a branded program.

Everything else - printable area on a specific item, number of colors, minimum quantity, sample cost and lead time - depends on the item and the run, and is quoted rather than published. Send the item number, the artwork and the quantity together and one reply can cover all of it.

Preparing artwork that will survive a sample round

Send vector artwork where it exists, and a high resolution file where it does not. State the intended print size in millimeters rather than leaving it to be inferred from the file.

• Convert text to outlines so the mark does not depend on a font being available.
• Specify colors as a printed reference, not a screen value.
• Mark which element must stay legible if the mark has to be reduced.
• Say whether the mark goes on the tube, the ferrule, the handle or the pouch.